PROJECT TRACKER: Rebuilding Taunton City Hall

City Hall at 15 Summer St., across from Church Green, has been shuttered and off limits to the public since a arson fire on Aug. 10, 2010.No one has been charged with setting the fire in the historic building’s fourth-floor attic.Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state fire marshal's offic...

City Hall at 15 Summer St., across from Church Green, has been shuttered and off limits to the public since a arson fire on Aug. 10, 2010.

No one has been charged with setting the fire in the historic building’s fourth-floor attic.

Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state fire marshal's office, said Friday the case remains open and urged anyone with information relevant to the fire to call her office or the Taunton Fire Department.

Firefighters extinguished the smoky blaze in less than half an hour, but water poured through walls and ceilings. That led to a decision by officials to conduct a controlled interior demolition of a series of walls to prevent the spread of mold.

Nearly all city departments in the building relocated to the former Lowell M. Maxham School at 141 Oak St. The school building had just closed that year.

Progress

There were two significant developments in 2013 that could influence the outcome of any renovation of the original City Hall.

The first came in the form of presentation in April of a formal feasibility “re-use study” conducted by Providence-based architects Durkee Brown Viveiros Werenfels.

The study provided three options for renovating City Hall in accordance with state building code laws. Projected costs range from $15 million to $23 million.

Two of the building schemes would preserve the granite building bordering the street and the older brick section in the rear, which contains the council chambers. One of the two plans, however, calls for building new council chambers on the first floor.

Implementation of the most expensive option would eliminate the brick portion, replacing it with a “large new addition.” It also calls for demolition of the separate, brick-and-wood Annex Building behind City Hall, that for years housed the offices of the city planner and conservation agent.

In December, the city appropriated $92,000 for a pre-demolition feasibility study, which is currently underway.

The second major factor in 2013 was the transfer of ownership of the Star Theater/Leonard Block building next to City Hall to the city.

By taking possession of the dilapidated building from Michael O’Donnell via a housing court judge’s ruling, the city is now in a position to tear it down.

Doing so, said Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. and other officials, will eliminate any demand of work crews to take special precautions to safeguard Star Theater while working on City Hall. It will also create more parking.

The City Council and Hoye have yet to publicly announce which, if any, of the three redesign options they want to implement.